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Making your own DIY backdrops for photography, especially food and still life photography, is a great way to save money while you improve your photo style. In this first part of a 2 part series, I will show you how to make a pallet studio for food and still life photography. (Part 2 here)
In the winter, taking pictures for my blog is a bit of a challenge.
The lighting is as cold as the weather outside, and I have the added problem that comes from living on the wrong side of a mountain, the sun is completely blocked during most of day.
Even worse, most of the meals that I want to photograph are made at night, when I can't get decent lighting anywhere. So, I finally decided to invest in some lights to be able to take pictures inside whenever my little heart desires. We don't have a lot of room in our small house for a mini photo studio, though.
Luckily, we have just added on some space, which looks like an unfinished basement without windows. It isn't the most beautiful place for taking pictures, but it does have a small, open spot for me.
Sorry to admit it, but this homemade yogurt photo was taken on my bathroom floor! Not so appealing anymore?
In the past, to get a variety of backgrounds for my pictures, I have gone everywhere from the ground outside, to pallets, to (even) my (albeit clean) bathroom floor!! Yuck!
Speaking of pallets, I have to say that I like their rustic look for making a DIY backdrop for photography. Even more, I love that I can get them for free!
Making a DIY backdrop for photography using a pallet
For my basement “studio,” I first looked for a relatively small pallet with the planks as close together as possible. My usual photography subjects are food and small crafts so I don't need (or want) the area to be very large.
Cut the pallet in half.
In the end, I chose a larger pallet and decided to cut it in half giving me a matching “floor” and “wall” backdrop.
Begin by cutting the pallet in half on one side of the center support first cutting through the planks and then flipping over and cutting through the bottom pieces.
My chosen pallet had one bad plank that I decided to switch out for another that fit into the space. If you can find a decent pallet, though, you can avoid the hassle and are ready to go!
Having cut on one side of the center support blocks, the smaller half of the pallet ends up having unsupported planks along the cut line. I nailed those free ends onto a thin strip of wood to keep everything in place and sturdy. I then decided to remove the remaining blocks on the bottom of that piece, leaving a flatter panel that takes up less room.
I left the the supporting blocks on the larger half, which will become the “floor” of my pallet studio. The blocks help raise it the slightest bit off the floor, making taking pictures a bit more comfortable.
Painting the pallet studio
I've been wanting different colored wood photography backdrops, especially wanting a white wood backdrop, so I decided to paint the pallet.
Looking for a distressed look, I first painted the pallet with a dark gray latex paint that was leftover after painting one of our walls. I planned to paint over that color with white, and to sand it down in certain places, giving a distressed look.
First, though, I decided to put my new pallet “studio” to the test, taking pictures of my newly sewn notebook cover.
I have to say that I loved using it, and my new picture of my notebook cover was even accepted by the Craftgawker gods!
Getting back to distressing the wood…
I have been wanting to try the “vaseline” method, where you rub down the wood with vaseline in certain places over your base coat, and then you paint over it with your top color. The vaseline keeps the paint from sticking well, so when you sand your piece down, it will more easily show your base color in those areas.
I don't have vaseline at home, and ended up using some body butter that I was given as a gift a few years ago. I prefer to use homemade oil mixes for moisturizing, but felt bad about just throwing the body butter away, so I was happy to find a use for it.
I then lightly sprayed my pallet pieces with white spray paint. In the end, I didn't even bother with sanding down my top coat. The layer of white paint was so thin that it gave me a look that I liked without needing to do any extra work. The body butter probably didn't have anything to do with that, so maybe it wasn't as useful as I thought.
It had looked really white when I sprayed it, but it dried a lot more subtle. I love the new look.
Changing up the wood colors easily
Once you have your pallet studio set up, you will probably get sick of using the same color wood all of the time.
Rather than re-spraying your wood a new color each time you want a change, you can use some more pallet wood pieces to get the looks you want.
I use spare wooden planks from other pallets and set them side by side on top of my pallet floor, giving the appearance of a new wooden floor in a different color.
What's nice about that system is that you can paint one side of your planks yet another color, giving you several different options for taking pictures. The extra planks can be easily stored in the space below your floor pallet for using whenever you need them.
How did my new pallet studio work out for me?
The updated picture that I took of my crock pot carnitas was also accepted by the foodgawker gods!
Now I want to retake all of my old pictures!!
I'll refrain for now so that I can get some new material up for you all to read, but don't be surprised if little by little I start switching new photos into the old posts! I also hope that my new pictures will keep on improving.
Next time I'll show you other ways to customize your pallet studio so that not all of your pictures look the same, and will also give you other ideas of DIY backdrops for photography.
I hope you have enjoyed this post, and that it has given you some ideas for setting up your pictures.
Are you looking for more great tips for taking great food photography shots?
You need to check out this book…
Thank you! I live in an Apt. So not much space. I do not do food photos,have no sense of smell so food is Meh… I do like to take photos of books and small toys. So I will be taking a walkabout to find some pallets to carry home! Thanks from Colorado.
Hi Danny,
You’re very welcome! I’m happy to have helped.
Sorry about the sense of smell. I’ve always said that that’s one thing that I’d really be sad to lose (but that would help me keep from putting on weight- ha!)
We have a man at our house right now remodeling our kitchen who has the same issue. We keep teasing him that we’ve put strange things in his coffee because he says he wouldn’t know the difference.
Back to the pallets- if you’re lacking on space, it really helps to cut out (or pull apart to keep them longer) the planks and then you can lay them out as you need them. I’ve moved my “studio” to a small bedroom upstairs because I had no natural lighting in the basement, and now I rarely use the full pallet. I almost always use the individual planks that are natural brown wood on one side and painted turquoise blue on the other side. I just flip to whichever side I want for each photo, laying them out on the ground or on a wooden board. (You’ll see that the majority of the pics on my blog use those planks.)
I can then stack them out of the way when not in use.
Good luck finding some pretty pallets!! 🙂
Great article. Thank you for the tips. So many adverts though. Made it tough to keep reading.
Hi Steve,
I’m happy you liked the article.
Unfortunately, it would be impossible for me to keep up the costs to maintain this website if it weren’t for the ads.
Thanks for understanding.
Love this idea! I just started food blogging recently and I’m working on finding/making new photo props to take my photography to the next level. I will be trying this out.
Thanks, Samantha.
I’ve been making other sorts of backgrounds, but this is still my favorite. I hope it works well for you!!
More than great, i really like it
This is a great article. I love the wood and the lights. I’m always looking for different backgrounds to photograph my baked goods.
This is a great idea. Thanks!
Greetings from Grand Rapids, Michigan! I love this photo studio idea and was having fun reading the comments and then saw you are from my home town. Had fun reading your “about” page too with local references to Calvin College 🙂 My goal this year is to work on improving my blog pictures, with the first order of business to purchase a new camera. Once that’s done I might try something like this photo studio project. Might you be willing to share what type of camera you use? So far shopping for a new camera has been a little overwhelming . . .
Hello!! Wow, small world. I miss Grand Rapids. My mom and sister still live there, as do most of my friends. 🙂
I actually use a Canon 20d. It’s a digital SLR that it slightly outdated, and I bought it used. I got the tip from my photography professor at Calvin, actually. I had an open space in my schedule my last semester, and took a photography course. Halfway through, my camera broke. She told me my lens was a really good one, and suggested I buy the same camera, used, from a photography magazine (pre-internet times) because photographers are always updating their equipment, and usually take really good care of it. So, you can get cameras and lenses that look new for a lot cheaper.
They no longer make the 20d, so you can pick them up pretty cheaply online. I think it’s great as a starter camera, because you can learn without spending a fortune. I invested in an f1.8 fixed 50mm lens. They run around $100, but you can get those used too. 🙂
I recommend getting a lens that has a relatively small f number (the 1.8 of mine), which means it has a big aperture, if you will be taking lots of pictures of things up close. That allows you to blur backgrounds. I really think the lenses you choose makes the biggest difference, more so than the actual camera. Professionals might be able to tell a big difference, but I’m not there yet, and, from what you’re writing, I’m guessing you aren’t either. 😉
Thanks for the reply Tracy! I never thought of buying a used camera but maybe I should consider that. I think you are very right also about the lens being a key part of getting the type of pictures you want. You are probably lucky you are not here in Grand Rapids this winter. It’s been super cold with lots and lots of snow. Enjoy the sunshine in Spain! 🙂
Oooooh I hate snow. Last time I visited, I had the perfect visit. It snowed really hard one day- just enough to get pictures of my son in the snow. Then the sun came out and it all went away in a day or two, and the rest of my visit the weather was beautiful (for February, that is 🙂 )
If you are looking for a used camera, I would bet it would be easier in the US. If you find a camera shop that deals in that sort of thing, they might even have guarantees on their cameras. I have never had a problem, but it can’t hurt.
In college I found a decent store in GR, but I don’t remember where exactly it was, or if it would even be there anymore. I think it was somewhere downtown, where I never usually went. 😛 Sorry, not helpful. 🙂
I think that is a GREAT idea! I am thinking of making one
to take pictures of my Rabbits. It is much too cold for me
to fiddle around out in the Snow and freezing temperatures
to get a good shot. Thanks for sharing!
Necessity of the mother of invention! And you hit right on. Such a great look for so less. I esp. like the use of the stained boards on top for a different look. I bet you could also use flooring tiles, handmade paper, glass squares and more. I too need to photograph my painted furniture and accessories. I managed to clear off a wall, tentatively hung a back drape to get the look of a window drape and this is my photo station. My photo area can be found on my blog at http://smallhouseunderabigsky.wordpress.com
Yes, I have been know to take pictures all over the place, too. I have also been thinking about using the leftover floor tiles to give different looks. 🙂
I see you live in Michigan. I’m originally from Grand Rapids, myself. Now I live quite far away, though, in Spain.
This may be a dumb question, but where could I find pallets for free? I have a lighting studio for a second blog I run, but I just use a plain white background for that since it doesn’t require anything else (product photos), I would love to get a few pallets to use in my food blog!
Actually, that is a great question. I live in Spain, so the places I can find them might be different.
My husband has easy access to them because he is a fisherman, and they leave a lot of pallets in the port. We bring them home and use them for a lot of different projects.
I have noticed them in the trash at night at supermarkets, and other big stores that get their products on pallets, though, so that might be a good place to look. Maybe you can even ask at some of the bigger stores. They’ll probably give them to you.
Thanks for the info – I will probably stop by my nearest store and see if they have any around!
For the writer looking for pallets, I live in SW Michigan. Here we find pallets in a variety of places/stores where ever heavy things are loaded and unloaded. For example; farm feed stores, gun shops (gun safes) etc. A lot of time they are out by the trash or those super large garbage bins. Sometimes we stop and ask permission to take one. Sometimes they are recycled, or cost $5.00 but most of the time the shop needs to find a home for them. I found great wooden crates in perfect condition in the trash at our local Mexican grocery store. It’s amazing what you will find if you looking around. Good luck!
This is awesome. I’ve been asking my hubby to make me something similar to this with some old boards we pulled out of our house when we were renovating. Now I’ll have pics to show him exactly what I have in mind!
I hope it works out for you! I’d love to see the finished project!
This is so cool! I have just set up a new photo studio in the basement on a card table specifically for winter photographing and food photography. I love the rustic look of your pallet backdrop!
Thanks for your comment! The nice thing about pallets is that, apart from being able to find them for free, most of the time they are at least partly weathered and it saves you the hassle of trying to make it rustic. 🙂
If you end up using them, I’d love to see how it works out for you!
wow. This is awesome. You have just shamed me into trying harder on my pics… Thanks! (I think :P)
Thank you! (I think 😉 )
Definitely, do it!!
I have found that I have a new excitement for blogging now that I’m getting better at taking pictures!
I want to go back and remake a lot of my old posts, but I have a new confidence to get out more in the social media and have fun!
I really hope it works out for you!
Great ideas! I’d love to know what you have for lights? I need to get something for my basement too!
Thank you! I hope you can use some of them. They have really been improving my pictures!
Basically, my lighting kit is exactly like this one…
http://amzn.to/1aJTkPr (affiliate link).
I bought mine here in Spain, but it looks exactly the same. They have higher wattage ones for more expensive, and have kits with less lights for cheaper. There are also some with umbrella diffusors that aren’t too expensive. I bought the 3 light kit because it was basically going to cost me the same as 2 lights would. I figured I may as well get something I like now, rather than get something really cheap that won’t work well like the small lighting boxes. One of my blogger friends bought one of those, and she isn’t happy. I love mine.
I actually only have been using 2 of the 3 light in my basement, and keep the third one upstairs so I can take better cooking pictures at night. I make most of our meals at dinnertime when I have poor lighting.
The cool thing is that it all folds up into a relatively small bag if you need to. It’s not very convenient to do every day, though, because you have to remove the lightbulbs to fully fold up the reflector/diffuser boxes (or whatever they are called). 🙂
It’s nice to have the option, though, just in case.
I’d love to hear back if you set something up… to see what you got and how you like it. It may help others who are in the same predicament!
Great idea!! Thanks so much.
You’re welcome! 🙂
I’m glad you liked it!